'Clandestine' - Therapeutic Empty Forms

clandestine [klænˈdɛstɪn]

adj secret and concealed

The piece, is in reference to my fears of growth and eventual death, and was originally designed within the concept of 'spiritual spaces and recreations of the womb through someone's life'. Of course, like almost all artworks it shifted and changed into a project that became less about the creation of a womb for a human to find solitude in, to facing one of my deepest rooted fears within myself; The Fear of Death. This overwhelming sensation of eventual nothingness caused me to reject any positives that came with my own growth and adulthood, in favour of an ongoing sense of denial, and various attempts to cling to my childhood. Then, I experienced an existential crisis, and my piece became about my acceptance of the ultimatum. I had also hidden this fear from everyone, including myself, and hoped that the creation and exhibition of this piece would allow me to reveal this great concern, not only to others, but to myself.

The use of empty cocoons, symbolises my 'metamorphosis' between my fear and acceptance, and the turbulent time in which the art was crafted, as I ascended into adulthood from being a child. They are beautiful pieces, the porcelain crafting something pure and delicate, yet distinctively human in nature.

In certain corners of the room, I would like small clusters of the 'husks' to be piled, all facing upwards like a cluster of hives. Their hollow spaces begging us to leap inside, whereas we cannot, for they are too minute for our grown forms to cower within. These clusters, would not be noticed at first, but once noticed, all of them would be. This causes the viewer to be put in my place; the ever-growing fear only grows once noticed; becoming steadily more prominent as time goes on. A number of cocoons would be spread out amongst the space, often smashed or chipped into, in order to reveal the inside of their forms, or them becoming dust. These discarded shells are hollow, lonely remnants of my past, as if the brilliant whiteness of them has been corrupted by my growth and fear.